Buying drugs online
(Quebec) A father from Beauce who died of an overdose in his attic apparently suffered a relapse when he was targeted by online advertisements for cocaine. A coroner asks Quebec to act on this phenomenon which would benefit web giants like Facebook and Instagram.
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Steven was found dead on December 5 in his house in a municipality in Beauce, 50 minutes from Quebec. The 32-year-old man had blood in his mouth. He held in his hands a “bag containing a white powder”.
A coroner in his recent report concluded that the thirty-year-old died of acute cocaine intoxication.
But the Dr Arnaud Samson goes further. The coroner points out the phenomenon of online advertisements promoting illegal drugs, present on several major platforms such as Facebook or Instagram.
“(The man’s) relapse was facilitated by the availability of online advertisements promoting illicit substances on platforms accessible to the general public,” writes the coroner in his particularly extensive report.
“This is likely how he was exposed to these offers.” »
Steven found a cocaine dealer online. The delivery was received on November 25, a few days before his death, by mail, with tracking number, as if it had been an ordinary delivery of an electric toothbrush or baby diapers.
The investigation by the Sûreté du Québec did not make it possible to identify the seller “due to the jamming techniques” used by these merchants. The coroner also does not specify which delivery service transported the drugs.
An analysis of the white powder found in the man’s home confirmed it was cocaine and methamphetamine. The coroner’s report does not mention traces of fentanyl. The autopsy also detected a previous condition in the man, mild coronary atherosclerosis. This condition can narrow the diameter of the arteries and increase the risk of heart attack.
Just before his death, this father of a little girl had just moved into a new house and had a job. But according to a relative, after a period of sobriety, he had just relapsed into his drinking.
“It was in this context of vulnerability that advertisements for the sale of drugs appeared while browsing social networks,” writes the coroner.
Algorithms can use personal data to identify Internet users in vulnerable situations. “Ads for the sale of cocaine and other drugs are presented directly to them on their news feeds, exploiting their vulnerability at the precise moment when they are most likely to respond. »
Quebec must study the question
Coroner Samson is of course not the only one to be concerned about these advertisements on the internet. The show The Invoice of January 6 had documented how a man had cocaine purchased online delivered by Canada Post.
The Wall Street Journal also revealed in 2024 that federal prosecutors in the United States are investigating whether Meta profits from the illegal sale of drugs on its platforms.
Cybercrime expert David Décary-Hétu notes that this phenomenon has been known for a long time. Internal Meta documents revealed by the Reuters agency also noted that the web giant estimated that in 2024 it would derive 10% of its advertising revenue – representing $16 billion – from advertisements for scams or illegal products.
“This is a significant problem, in the United States Facebook is also being sued by a consumer protection organization because they profit from the sale of drugs,” notes the professor at the School of Criminology at the University of Montreal and interim director of the International Center for Comparative Criminology.
He notes, however, that the company appears to be making real efforts to try to remove these ads.
“Facebook closes something like 200 to 300 million accounts per month. They still do something. But given the scale that the company has taken, it’s a bit utopian to believe that they can control everything,” he says.
“On the other hand, there are elements that suggest that the company is turning a blind eye a little and taking advantage of this windfall,” he adds. Everything is not black or white. It’s in the grays. »
Coroner Arnaud Samson recommends that Quebec take a serious interest in the phenomenon. He asks the National Directorate of Public Health to document the problem of online drug advertising and to analyze international initiatives to better regulate these advertisements.
